


Cordial Christmas

by Whedonista93



Series: Big Crime Theory [2]
Category: Crimes of Fashion (2004), The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Penny is a mob boss, Pre-Relationship, Small Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:36:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21899026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whedonista93/pseuds/Whedonista93
Summary: There’s very little of Penny’s life that Brooke is taking back to Boston with her.
Relationships: Sheldon Cooper/Brooke Sarto, Sheldon Cooper/Brooke Taylor, Sheldon Cooper/Penny
Series: Big Crime Theory [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1577500
Comments: 19
Kudos: 71





	Cordial Christmas

There’s very little of Penny’s life that Brooke is taking back to Boston with her. Some pictures, her Penny Blossoms, a few video games and comic books she’s collected over the last couple years… it all fits into a couple boxes. She quits the Cheesecake Factory and spends a lot of time on the phone with her people back in Boston.

* * *

Christmas is cordial, but awkward. Brooke zones out a bit at one point, swiping through pictures of the dress shop's Christmas party on her phone.

Sheldon's hand gently settling in her shoulder and his soft, “Brooke,” startles her out of her daze.

She snaps her head toward Sheldon’s voice. “Shit! Sorry, how long have you guys been trying to get my attention?”

“I called your name like five times,” Leonard whines.

“Seven, actually,” Sheldon corrects.

“Whatever,” Leonard waves him off. “Who the hell is Brooke?”

“Me,” Brooke answers without offering any further explanation. “Anyway, What were you trying to get my attention for?”

“We asked if you were ready to exchange gifts?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course. Absolutely.” She smiles and tucks her legs up onto the couch, cross-legged.

She side eyes Sheldon suspiciously when he doesn’t protest her knee brushing his.

Raj, comfortably a couple grasshoppers in, declares himself gift master and starts divvying out packages.

Raj gifts her with a set of whacky shaped, utterly nerdy Star Trek cocktail glasses that she automatically adores. Howard gives her a robotic teddy bear that would be cute if it weren’t so creepy and she could be sure there wasn’t a camera embedded in it somewhere. Leonard gives her a little silver snowflake pendant suspended from a delicate chain and a long winded, hopeful-expressioned explanation of how it’s a preserved snowflake and he worked so hard on it. Brooke thanks him with a forced smile before turning to Sheldon.

He silently hands her a thick envelope. Her hands start to shake in anticipation as she flips through the pages inside. A resignation letter addressed to Dr. Gablehauser. A contract with a moving company. Letters of interest addressed to several universities in the Boston area. Brooke beams up at him. “You’re coming with me?”

Sheldon inclines his head. “It seemed not only the most prudent, but the most desirable course of action.”

Brooke carefully sets the envelope on the coffee table before angling herself sideways on the couch toward Sheldon. “Not only are you going with me, you’re going because you _want_ to go with me?”

Sheldon stares at her blankly. “Isn’t that what I just said?”

“I’m going to hug you now,” she warns, already launching herself across the scant inches between them. “Non optional,” she adds before he can protest.

He grumbles incoherently, but wraps his arms around her shoulders, slightly less stiff and awkward than usual.

“What the hell is going on with you two?” Leonard’s whining voice demands.

Penny huffs a breath against Sheldon’s chest before extricating herself and leveling a glare at Leonard.

He straightens up stubbornly. “You both quit your jobs. You’re _awfully_ friendly with each other and neither of you has participated in group activities all week. Your car has vanished, and you’re spending a lot of time on the phone. Sheldon’s calling you Brooke.”

“That’s ‘cause it’s my name, Leonard,” Brooke tells him.

“But… Penny.”

Brooke shrugs. “An alias.”

“A mob boss on the run can’t very well run about under their own name,” Sheldon points out.

Leonard scoffs. “Mob boss? Penny?”

“It’s Brooke,” she corrects at the same moment Raj shrugs and says, “I can see it.”

Brooke beams. “Thanks, Raj. You’re allowed to visit.”

Boxing Day dawns bright, and Brooke is so excited she’s voluntarily at the car, ready to go, at 9 am sharp. She smirks cockily when Sheldon looks suitably impressed.

She slides into her seat and turns to Sheldon, whose meticulous adjustment of his seatbelt takes all of two seconds - he’s been the only one in the passenger seat - and waits for him to acknowledge her. “Make you a deal?”

He raises an eyebrow at her. 

“I will play your road trip games as long as you don’t comment on my driving.”

Sheldon considers for a moment. “May I comment if our lives are in danger?”

Penny cocks her head. “Fine, but only if we’re _actually_ in danger.”

“Very well, I agree.”

* * *

The first thing out of George’s mouth when he sees Sheldon is, “Who’s the putz?” 

Brooke swats his arm affectionately. “Be nice. He’s not a putz, he’s my friend. This is Sheldon. Sheldon, this is my grandfather, George.”

Sheldon nods toward him, but keeps his hands clasped behind his back. “Sir.”

George quirks an eyebrow at Brooke.

She shrugs. “He’s got a thing about germs.”

“Right… so what’s Mr. Germs gonna do with himself while you’re… _working_?”

Brooke rolls her eyes. “If you’re gonna be an ass, at least call him Dr. Germs. And he’s got a consultation with M.I.T. on Monday. Frankie, show Sheldon his room, please. I’ll come get you for dinner, sweetie. I need to talk to my grandpa for a minute.”

Sheldon nods stiffly and follows Frankie up the stairs.

Brooke whirls back on George. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you being so rude?!”

George cringes. “I’m your grandpa. I’m not supposed to like the boys you bring home.”

Brooke groans and collapses into the nearest chair. “It’s not like that, grandpa.”

“Could’ve fooled me, angel.”

Brooke glares. “It’s not like that.”

“So you don’t have feelings for him?”

“I didn’t say that,” she mumbles.

George's expression softens. “You wouldn’t have brought him here if you didn’t.”

“I would have, actually.”

“Why?”

“He’s my friend. And he needed to be somewhere else.”

“You didn’t come back to Boston only because you wanted to, did you?”

Brooke smiles softly, sadly. “Sheldon is smart… like, ridiculously, beyond explanation smart. But he doesn’t get people. His work is _everything_ to him. And the people he thought were his friends messed with his career, with his research, humiliated him. It’s hard for Sheldon to trust people anyway and that… it was the worst thing anyone could have done to him. Everyone was acting cordial, but I think the change of scenery will be good for him. CalTech is great, but with the resources of M.I.T. at his disposal… I don’t know if there’s a limit to what he’ll be able to do.”

“Want me to pull some strings? Make sure they have a place for him?”

“ _No_! If he even thought he maybe got the position for anything other than his own merit he would never forgive me.”

“You are correct,” Sheldon’s voice drifts from the vicinity of the door.

Brooke bolts upright. “Shit, Moonpie! Make a noise or something! How long have you been standing there?”

“Only Meemaw calls me Moonpie. And I came within hearing range approximately the time you said I was your friend.”


End file.
